Ousted Madagascar Leader Relieved of Citizenship
Previous leader of Madagascar Rajoelina, deposed by a military takeover the prior week, has been stripped of his citizenship from the current authorities.
The decree, issued by the current PM Rajaonarivelo, referenced local laws stating that people who acquired another nationality would forfeit their citizenship of Madagascar.
He, in his fifties, acquired French citizenship in the past, prompting calls for his disqualification from the 2023 presidential election. However, he resisted those calls and went on to win.
Rajoelina escaped the island country after prolonged unrest over ongoing electricity and supply issues, leading to a seizure of power led by Col Michael Randrianirina.
Rajoelina has said he has concealed himself for his personal security, and his whereabouts are unknown.
Upon making public his French nationality months before Madagascar's last presidential election, he argued he had gained privately it to make things easier for his children studying in overseas.
Recently, he had experienced protests first arranged by youth movement Gen Z Mada and influenced by similar public dissent in the Asian country, which were intensified when his government responded with aggression.
He fired his power minister and then his government - but this did little to quell the calls for him to resign.
Demonstrators wished that Rajoelina would resign to make way for a orderly, change in leadership.
Instead, he clung to power, finally causing the armed forces, of which Randrianirina was chief, to assume authority.
Randrianirina took the oath and has created a different cabinet, pledging to hold elections within 24 months.
